Various embodiments of a protective armor panel are described herein. In particular, the embodiments described herein relate to an improved multifunctional composite panel for blast and ballistic protection.
Protective armor typically is designed for several applications types: personal protection such as helmets and vests, vehicle protection such as for high mobility multi-wheeled vehicles (HMMWVs), and rigid structures such as buildings. Important design objectives for personal protection include, for example, protection against ballistic projectiles, low weight, and good flexure. Vehicles and rigid structures often require superior ballistic and blast protection and low cost per unit area.
Blast protection typically requires the material to have the structural integrity to withstand the high loads of blast pressure. Ballistic protection typically requires the material to stop the progress of bomb fragments ranging in size from less than one millimeter to 10 mm or more and traveling at velocities in excess of 2000 meters per second for smaller fragments.
Accordingly, personal protective armor is often made of low weight, high tech materials having a high cost per unit area. High unit area cost may be acceptable to the user because people present low surface area relative to vehicles and buildings. The materials used in personal protective armor products do not need high load bearing capabilities because either the body supports the material, such as in a vest, or the unsupported area is very small, such as in a helmet.
As a result of the blast, ballistic, and low unit area cost requirements for vehicles and structures, the materials used in blast protection are typically heavier materials, including for example, metals and ceramics. Such materials may not always be low cost. Such materials may further be of usually high weight per unit area.